A Logistics Review That Could Save You a Lot of Money

Even as effects of the pandemic continue to recede in many areas, supply chain disruption remains stubbornly entrenched.

Fortunately, most anticipate supply chains will eventually return to normal. However, knowing when that will happen and how to best deal with the obstacles ahead can be difficult to confidently determine given the stress of uncertainty. Take advantage of our expertise and we can help you minimize the fallout.

Speak with a LiVe Logistics transportation expert for a mid-year logistics review and learn how you can shrink the disruption – and cost – of this temporary but troublesome situation. We’ll show you steps you can take to get an edge on the competition, in tough times and beyond.

Planning Advantage Examples

While you can’t change the facts of seasonal demand, you can reduce costs with medium and long-term planning, instead of just reacting to short-term demand. We’ve built our success around ongoing communication with our customers and a deep understanding of the dynamics behind their production and shipping requirements. This enables us to provide strategic logistical recommendations that save them a lot of money.

As an example, if you’re going to ship 100 loads per week, it can be far more cost effective to ship 20 per day Monday through Friday than to ship 100 on Monday. Load leveling, aided by strategic pickup and delivery times, can all help reduce the overall supply chain cost.

A food manufacturer had trouble shipping product produced over the weekend on Mondays, which overflowed into more issues on Tuesdays. To solve this problem, we recommended adjustments that included weekend pick-ups rather than waiting until Monday to ship. Knowing the typical number of loads produced per shift per line, we calculated anticipated trailer needs based on their labor schedule and created an estimate of what would need to be picked up. The result was a new process that enabled them to make all of their other shipments on Monday and Tuesday without falling behind based on their weekend labor schedule.

Shipping earlier in the day can also reduce costs because fewer trucks are available later in the day and more time is allowed for same-day deliveries. Avoiding transport over the weekend, when possible, can also help reduce overall cost.

Ensure the Best 2021 with Strategic Logistics Planning

CPGs and retailers did more volume planning in the past but the uncertainty of the current environment has left many less willing to produce and hold extra inventory. Instead, they have shifted focus from forecasting volumes and producing for spikes to leveling their production. The goal is often to maximize line efficiencies with the team they already have in place without needing to rely on higher season or temporary labor spikes. This, in turn has led to product shortages as demand peaks, in addition to leaving them vulnerable to escalating shipping costs. Just-in-time (JIT) is still possible, but only if you plan ahead.

Many placed Q4 holiday related orders sourced from Asia early in the year, but haven’t done any planning to get these inbound shipments to their distribution centers from the ports yet. The good news: there’s still time to prevent freight problems if you plan now.

Get Started with a Mid-Year Logistics Review

If you provide us with your year-end forecast, we can help project the logistics solutions you will need to get through the rest of this year as smoothly and cost-effectively as possible. We will track and update your shipments as part of a monthly scorecard that will ensure the best outcome and provide you with logistics visibility. We can also build you a volume forecast based on your historical data to get started if you’re unsure about your forecast.